In the lane, snow is glistening
by OtterAndTerrier
Summary: [COMPLETE] Post-RotJ fluff in the snow.


**A/N:** A while ago I reblogged a post of winter headcanons on my Tumblr, and **organanation** asked if I could make a fic about "snowball fight/shoving snow down each other's backs that ends with kissing", so that's what this fic is all about (I accidentally ended up including other headcanons from that post, but it was a headcanon coincidence). Fluff, now with extra snow! This is my gift to both **organanation** and **hanorganaas** for hosting the **2016 Han/Leia Secret Santa.** Many thanks to **singing-supper** for reading this first. There's a prequels Easter Egg that I personally find hilarious but my sense of humour isn't very reliable.

 _I worked on this for a week (because I'm a slow writer, not because it's incredibly complex) and finished editing and finally posted it on Tuesday 28th of December. The original author note said it was "a small cheering up attempt while we wait on more (hopefully good) news about Carrie". Not long afterwards we found out the devastating news, so it feels like a cruel joke now. I've been a mess and I haven't been able to post this outside of Tumblr, but I've been reading other people's fics to distract me, so I decided to just go ahead and post it in case it might help distract/comfort others too. If you're feeling the same, here's a hug. May the Force be with us, and especially with her family and loved ones._

* * *

Everything was set for it to happen. The days had been growing increasingly colder, the sky had begun amassing a homogeneous layer of clouds, weather forecasts had marked that day as the day at least two weeks earlier, and experts on the flora and fauna of Hanna City had declared nature was indeed getting ready for a bountiful snowfall. Leia had checked the hourly forecast moments before going to bed the previous night, just in case, and set the alarm accordingly. It was slated to begin in the early hours of the following morning; if it was so, she supposed she would miss the first snowflakes, but it would still be worth it to get up at least an hour earlier than she usually did.

She woke up at the first chime of her alarm and turned it off before it could rouse her companion. Then, just to make sure, she ran across the carpeted floor to the window and sneaked a peek outside.

Grinning, she bounced back to bed.

'Han,' Leia called, leaning down over him. 'Han, wake up.'

He groaned but didn't even stir. He was sleeping on his stomach, with his head turned to one side (how he managed to sleep on his stomach for good part of the night without getting a sore neck was a mystery Leia hadn't managed to crack); his hair was scruffier than usual and he wore a relaxed expression on his face (which happened to make him look like he was grumpy even in his sleep, but she knew he wasn't). And he was still very much asleep.

'Come on, Han, wake up,' Leia insisted. 'Will you come down with me for a moment, please?' Han groaned again and this time, he moved his head… to burrow it deeper into his pillow. Leia snorted in a mix of amusement and impatience. She bent lower still, pressing herself against his back to whisper in his ear. 'Please, Han, come down with me. It'll just be a moment.'

His gruff voice emerged muffled by the pillow. 'Go where?'

'Outside. It's snowing.'

He turned his head enough to give her a one-eyed glare. 'It's snowing and you wanna go outside? Are you crazy?'

'It's the first snow, I don't want to miss it. Will you come with me?' Leia asked, hating how close to begging she was starting to sound, but deciding it'd be the last time she asked. If he said no—

'Fine,' Han said at last with a big sigh. 'Get off me so I can put on some clothes.'

With a squeal of happiness, Leia planted a kiss on his cheek before jumping off the bed and throwing a parka at him.

* * *

The sky was dark as they stood outside, in the small lawn that served as entrance to their apartment building, dotted with trees and park benches and currently blanketed with snow. Although neither of them had had a cup of caf yet, Han had somewhat cheered up during their ride down the lift, perhaps infected by the enthusiasm Leia was finding hard to contain. They had put on boots, sweaters and thick coats over their pyjamas; it kept them warm enough, but Leia still relished the moment when Han wrapped his arms around her and allowed her to lean into his chest.

It was more beautiful than she had imagined, and for a moment, neither of them broke the silence. After a couple of minutes, Leia said, 'I never thought I'd miss the snow, after Hoth.'

'I don't. I still hate it,' Han grumbled. He hadn't grown up with snow, he'd told her a few days ago. Hoth was the longest time in his life he'd had to put up with so much of it and such harsh temperatures. 'It's cold, and rough, and irritating, and it gets everywhere. What's so special about it, anyway?'

Leia shrugged. It was silly but… since she'd dragged him out there, she supposed he deserved an explanation.

'It reminds me of home,' she said simply, staring as snowflakes settled into her hair, which she had left unbound and falling over her shoulders. 'Chandrila is very similar to what… what Alderaan was. Before I met you and Luke, I'd been mostly living on Coruscant. It feels more like a machine than a natural planet… although I suppose it's got very little of nature anymore. And then, all we've been through…'

Leia trailed off as she tried to put her feelings into words.

'What I'm trying to say is that sometimes, I feel as if I was back home, here. And I used to love snowy days,' she said, blinking back the mist in her eyes before turning in Han's arms to face him, beaming.

'Yeah? What did you do?'

'My friends and I, we'd go skiing or ice-skating,' Leia said, her gaze turned inwards and a small smile lighting up her face. 'Whenever my parents could take a break from their obligations, we'd all go to a resort in the mountains, my aunts, uncles and cousins as well. My mother had the most amazing recipe for a hot drink, it'd warm you right up.'

Han was looking at her with an amused yet warm smile. She still couldn't bring herself to talk at length about her life in Alderaan, even to Han, and never without a stab of sadness (would she ever?). If Han found these confessions out of character, the revelation that she had, in fact, been young and carefree once, he didn't say anything about it.

'What about snowball fights, Your Highness?' Han asked suddenly, his low, gruff voice the only sound breaking the monotonous thuds of the falling snow, apart from the occasional humming of engines. 'Were you allowed to join in snowball fights, or was that unbecoming of little princesses?'

Leia chuckled. 'Well, technically, it was, but I never cared much about that. I was quite an accomplished snowball fighter.'

'Hm. Thought so.' Han's arms let go of her and he took a step back. Leia looked up at him in confusion; she saw the beginnings of a devious smirk forming on his face. 'I remember you demonstrating your skills on me once.'

Leia frowned. 'What are you talking about?'

'You don't remember?' Han asked, taking another step backwards, looking innocently (or as innocent as Han Solo was capable of looking) at her. 'We hadn't been on Hoth at the same time for more than half a day yet. I was talking to some pilots, said my balls were freezing—'

Leia snorted. 'Charming.'

'Then I said you lot had been right in choosing that ice ball; the Empire wouldn't be stupid enough to set a foot there,' Han continued, ignoring her remark. He'd taken a couple more steps further away from Leia as he spoke. 'They'd just leave you there, let the planet do their job finishing you off for them.' He gave her an apologetic smile. 'I didn't know you were eavesdropping until a bunch of snow hit me on the back of my head. Pretty good shot.'

'Oh.' She remembered now, although she wasn't too sorry; he'd been a right jerk back then. He'd had it coming. 'I wasn't eavesdropping; I was only passing by.'

'Sure. Anyway, you told me you'd do the job of Jabba's bounty hunters for him and blast my head off if I didn't stop distracting the troops with my demoralizing whining. Something like that.' Another step back; then, very slowly, he crouched. 'I just now remembered I never returned fire.'

Now it all made sense. Leia laughed. 'Han, please, you wouldn't… It's so childish…'

She started backing away from him as well, eyeing him as he plunged his hands into the fresh snow at his feet, his gaze unwavering on her, and pulled them out with two handfuls.

'Seriously?'

'Seriously, Princess.' He brought both hands together, forming a shapeless white clump. 'Now, I know a thing or two about debts, like for example, you can always try and run away from them…'

'Did you learn anything these past years?' Leia asked in disbelief, but Han just kept grinning. It was driving her mad, all this expectation, but at the same time there was something like thrill fluttering in her stomach.

'… but eventually, they catch up with you.'

He raised his snowball and swung his arms towards her; Leia ducked, but by the time she realized it had been a feint, Han had already redirected his aim. The ball of packed ice exploded as it hit her on the shoulder.

The impact stilled her only for a moment; the next second, she had her hands already full of snow that she squeezed firmly in her grip before throwing it at Han… and catching him full on the face despite his attempt to dodge it.

The most poorly-executed battle Leia had ever seen ensued next, both of them hurling handfuls of snow that mostly disintegrated in mid-air before reaching their target and occasionally taking a well-aimed hit. While her hands hurt (she regretted not deeming it necessary to put on a pair of gloves) and she was starting to get chilly, her cheeks were also hurting but from laughing so much, as she watched Han trip and call her names while attempting to aim a snowball at her bottom.

When he succeeded at doing exactly that, she came up with a cunning strategy. Throwing another snowball at his face, she took advantage of the diversion to clamber on his back and try to shove a bunch of snow down his shirt.

'Agh!'

The impact of her jumping on him coupled with the unexpected, absolutely freezing surprise sent Han stumbling, and Leia's precarious hold on his neck only contributed to him losing his balance. They fell heavily to the ground, in a tangle of limbs, coats, snow and Leia's hair.

She slid off of him and crawled to her knees. 'Han… I'm sorry… Are you all right?'

'Ungh.' He pushed himself up onto his elbows and scowled at her. ''M Fine. Is this your idea of fun in the snow, Your Worship? If you just wanted a chance to jump me, you shoulda said so. Could've done that someplace warmer.'

'Oh shut up,' Leia said, flicking snow to his face.

'Now you've crossed the line.'

There was a blur of motion, and Leia shrieked as she found herself on her back, writhing against Han's efforts to stuff snow down her top.

'Get off me, flyboy!' she gasped, laughing.

'Like hell!' Han said, although he really wasn't doing more than putting on a show (something Leia was thankful for, because the snow felt cold enough with the layers of clothing between her and the ground). Wrapping her hands around his neck, she lifted her head and kissed him deeply on the mouth. Han kissed her back, all teasing gone, his hands moving to support her back. In a few seconds, she felt herself regaining all her body heat again… or so she thought.

'Blast, sweetheart, you're shivering,' Han said, breaking apart. 'Let's get up.'

They did so, brushing off the snow from their clothes and hair. 'Ready to go inside?'

'I am.' Standing on her tiptoes, Leia wrapped her arms around his neck again, pressing their bodies together. 'Do you know what the best part of a snowy day is?' she whispered suggestively in his ear.

'No. What's that?' Han asked, running his hands slowly up and down her back.

'Warming up after being out in the cold.'

'Then what are we waiting for?'

Grinning, he slid one of his arms off of her and turned back towards their building, inviting her to follow. As they made their way through the still darkened lawn, snowflakes falling over and all around them, with Leia tucked warmly into his side—rosy cheeks, bright eyes, a small twig tangled in her hair—Han thought he had a newfound appreciation of snow.


End file.
